All warfare affects children, but there is mounting evidence that current conflicts are having a greater impact than ever before … African communities are increasingly … permeated by forces, relations and pressures … integrally related to globalization … Constrained by debt and structural adjustment programmes the economies of many developing countries have undergone restructuring which has involved cutting basic services and reducing the size of the public sector. Inequalities have widened and the effect on the social fabric has been to make livelihoods more insecure. Household and community capacities to nurture and protect are declining and there has been a weakening of the norms to protect children … This has resulted in the commodification of children … which is inducing an increase in child labour, including child soldiering.

Many under-age combatants choose to fight with their eyes open and defend their choice, sometimes proudly … [M]ilitia activity offers young people a chance to make their way in the world … As rational human actors, they have [a] surprisingly mature understanding of their predicament.